VERMANDOIS, Lady Elisabeth de b. 13 Feb 1085 Valois, Oise, Picardie, France d. 13 Feb 1131 Prieuré Saint-Nicaise de Meulan, Diocèse de Chartres, Seine-et-Oise, France

1085 - 1131 (46 years)

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Name	VERMANDOIS, Elisabeth de
Prefix	Lady
Birth	13 Feb 1085	Valois, Oise, Picardie, France
Gender	Female
Burial	Feb 1131	Lewes Priory, Seine-et-Oise, France
Death	13 Feb 1131	Prieuré Saint-Nicaise de Meulan, Diocèse de Chartres, Seine-et-Oise, France
WAC	16 Dec 1921
_TAG	Reviewed on FS
Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
Person ID	I39468	Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith
Last Modified	19 Aug 2021

Father	CREPI, Count Hugh de , b. 1055, Vermandois, Neustrasia, France Vermandois, Neustrasia, Franced. 18 Oct 1102, Tarsus, Cilicia, France (Age 47 years)
Mother	VERMANDOIS, Countess Adele de , b. 1061, Valois, Bretagne, France Valois, Bretagne, Franced. 23 Sep 1120, Vermandois, Neustrasia, France (Age 59 years)
Marriage	1064	France
Notes	MARRIAGE: Also shown as Married Abt 1065
Family ID	F5003	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family	BEAUMONT, Earl Robert de , b. 6 Dec 1046, Beaumont, Dordogne, Aquitaine, France Beaumont, Dordogne, Aquitaine, Franced. 5 Jun 1118, Préaux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France (Age 71 years)
Marriage	1096	France
Family ID	F17675	Group Sheet \| Family Chart
Last Modified	24 Jan 2022

Photos At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.

Notes

She was the Countess of Leicester. In her article Dowager Countesses(Anglo-Norman Studies XVII, p. 90) and their remarriages, RaGenaDeAragon says: "No one remarried as swiftly as Isabel de Vermandois.At most a few days after the death of her first husband Robert deBeaumont, count of Meulan and later earl of Leicester, Isabel wedWilliam II de Warenne, earl of Surrey. Henry of Huntingdonsalaciously reports that she ran off with William while Robert laydying; it is more likely that William seized the earliest legalopportunity to secure a noble, fertile (and willing?) bride. Afterall, he had lost a bid to marry Edith, daughter of St Margaret andMalcolm king of Scots, to Henry I. Isabel bore William at least fivechildren before his death twenty years later. Between her twomarriages she was married over forty-two years, gave birth to at leastthirteen children, and outlived two husbands." Although Weis gives a death date of February 13, 1131, apparentlyIsabel did outlive her second husband, though the date is uncertain(CP VII:526; CP XII:496). Isabel was twice married; first to Robert de Bellomont, Earl ofLiecester, and then to William, 2nd Earl Warren as shown above.

BIO: from http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NORTHERN%20FRANCE.htm#HuguesIdied1102
ISABELLE [Elisabeth] de Vermandois ([before 1088][953]-31 Feb 1131, bur Lewes). The Genealogiæ Scriptoris Fusniacensis refers to (but does not name) the fourth of the daughters of "Hugonem Magnum [et] Adelaide comitissa Veromandensium" as wife of "comiti de Meslent", and parents of "filios, quorum unus successit patri in comitatu, alter comitatum tenuit de Cirecestre"[954]. Her marriage is recorded by Orderic Vitalis, who names her father and specifies that the marriage formed part of the arrangements he made to settle his affairs before leaving on the First Crusade[955]. Guillaume de Jumièges names "Elisabeth fille de Hugues-le-Grand comte de Vermandois" as wife of "Guillaume II de Warenne comte de Surrey", specifying that her previous husband had been "Robert comte de Meulan" by whom she had three sons and three daughters[956]. m firstly ([1096], divorced 1115) ROBERT de Beaumont Comte de Meulan, Seigneur de Beaumont-le-Roger, son of ROGER de Vieilles Seigneur de Beaumont-le-Roger & his wife Adeline de Meulan ([1046]-5 or 6 Jun 1118, bur Préaux, monastery of Saint-Pierre). m secondly (1118) WILLIAM de Warenne Earl of Surrey, son of WILLIAM de Warenne Earl of Surrey & his first wife Gundred --- (-[11 May] 1138, bur Lewes Priory).

** from Wikipedia listing for Elizabeth de Vermandois (d. 1131)
Elizabeth de Vermandois, or Elisabeth or Isabel de Vermandois (1085? – 13 February 1130/1 17 February 1131), is a fascinating figure about whose descendants and ancestry much is known and about whose character and life relatively little is known. She was twice married to influential Anglo-Norman magnates, and had several children (among whose descendants are numbered many kings and some queens of England and Scotland). Her Capetian and Carolingian ancestry was a source of much pride for some of these descendants (who included these arms as quarterings in their coats-of-arms[1]). However, the lady herself led a somewhat controversial life.

Elizabeth de Vermandois was the third daughter of Hugh of Vermandois and Adele of Vermandois. Her paternal grandparents were Henry I of France and Anne of Kiev. Her maternal grandparents were Herbert IV of Vermandois and Adele of Valois.

Her mother was the heiress of the county of Vermandois, and descendant of a junior patrilineal line of descent from Charlemagne. The first Count of Vermandois was Pepin of Vermandois. He was a son of Bernard of Italy, grandson of Pippin of Italy and great-grandson of Charlemagne and Hildegard.

As such, Elizabeth had distinguished ancestry and connections. Her father was a younger brother of Philip I of France and her mother was among the last Carolingians. She was also distantly related to the Kings of England, the Dukes of Normandy, the Counts of Flanders and through her Carolingian ancestors to practically every major nobleman in Western Europe.

In 1096, while under age (and probably aged 9 or 11), Elizabeth married Robert de Meulan, 1st Earl of Leicester. Meulan was over 35 years her senior, which was an unusual age difference even for this time period. He was a nobleman of some significance in France, having inherited lands from his maternal uncle Henry, Count of Meulan, and had fought bravely and with distinction at his first battle, the Battle of Hastings in 1066 then aged only 16. His parents Roger de Beaumont, Lord of Beaumont-le-Roger and Pont-Audemar and Adeline of Meulan, heiress of Meulan had died long before; Roger had been a kinsman and close associate of William the Conqueror. Meulan had inherited lands in Normandy after his father died circa 1089, and had also been given lands in the Kingdom of England after his participation in the Norman conquest of England. However, at the time of the marriage, he held no earldom in England while his younger brother was already styled Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick.

Planche states that the bride (Elizabeth) agreed willingly to the marriage, although this means little in the context. Despite the immense age difference, this was a good marriage for its times. Meulan was a respected advisor to three reigning monarchs: William II of England), Robert Curthose of Normandy and Philip I of France.

According to Middle Ages custom, brides were often betrothed young - 8 being the legal age for betrothal and 12 for marriage (for women). The young betrothed wife would often go to her husband's castle to be raised by his parents or other relatives and to learn the customs and ways of her husband's family. The actual wedding would not take place until much later. Some genealogists speculate that the usual age at which a noble bride could expect the marriage to be consummated would be 14. This is consistent with the date of birth of Elizabeth's first child Emma in 1102 when she would be about 15 to 17.

The marriage produced several children, including most notably two sons who were twins (born 1104), and thus remarkable in both surviving and both becoming important noblemen. They are better known to historians of this period as the Beaumont twins, or as Waleran de Beaumont, Count of Meulan and his younger twin Robert Bossu (the Humpback) or Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester. (Readers of Ellis Peters' Cadfael historical mystery series will find both twins mentioned frequently). Another notable child of this marriage was Elisabeth or Isabel de Beaumont, one of the youngest mistresses of Henry I of England and later mother (by her first marriage) of Richard Strongbow.

Some contemporaries were surprised that the aging Count of Meulan (b circa 1049/1050) was able to father so many children, given how busy he was with turmoil in England and Normandy from 1102 to 1110 (or later) and acting as Henry I's unofficial minister. One explanation is offered below; another might simply be an indication of his good health and energy (expended mostly in dashing from one troublespot in Normandy to England back to Normandy).

William II of England died suddenly in a purported hunting accident, and was hastily succeeded not by the expected heir but by the youngest brother Henry. This seizure of the throne led to an abortive invasion by the older brother Duke Robert of Normandy, followed by an uneasy truce between the brothers, followed by trouble in both England and Normandy for some time (stirred up by Duke Robert, and by an exiled nobleman Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury). Finally, Henry invaded Normandy and in the Battle of Tinchebray (September 28, 1106) destroyed organized opposition to his takeover of Normandy and imprisoned his ineffectual older brother for his lifetime. Meulan and his brother Warwick were apparently supporters of Henry during this entire period, and Meulan was rewarded with the earldom of Leicester in 1103. By 1107, Meulan was in possession of substantial lands in three domains. In 1111, he was able to revenge himself on the attack on his seat Meulan by Louis VI of France. He avenged himself by harrying Paris.

Elizabeth, Countess of Meulan apparently tired of her aging husband at some point during the marriage. The historian Planche says (1874) that the Countess was seduced by or fell in love with a younger nobleman, William de Warenne (ca 1071 - 11 May 1138) himself the thwarted suitor of Edith of Scotland, Queen consort of Henry I of England. Warenne, whose mother Gundreda has been alleged (in modern times) to be the Conqueror's daughter and stepdaughter by some genealogists, was said to want a royal bride, and Elizabeth fitted his requirements, even though she was also another man's wife.

In 1115, the Countess was apparently carried off or abducted by Warenne, which abduction apparently concealed a long-standing affair. There was some kind of separation or divorce between Meulan and his wife, which however did not permit her to marry her lover. The elderly Count of Meulan died, supposedly of chagrin and mortification in being thus publicly humiliated, in the Abbey of Preaux, Normandy on 5 June 1118, leaving his properties to his two elder sons whom he had carefully educated.

Elizabeth married, secondly, William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey, sometime after the death of her first husband. By him, it is alleged, she already had several children (all born during her marriage to Meulan). She also had at least one daughter born while she was living out of wedlock with Warenne (1115-1118). It is unclear whether this daughter was Ada de Warenne, wife of Henry of Scotland or Gundrede de Warenne, wife of Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick (her half-brothers' first cousin).

The later life of Elizabeth de Vermandois is not known. Her sons by her first marriage appear to have a good relationship with their half-brother William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey although on opposing sides for much of the wars between Stephen and Matilda. Her eldest son Waleran, Count of Meulan was active in supporting the disinherited heir William Clito, son of Robert Curthose until captured by King Henry. He was not released until Clito's death without issue in 1128. Her second son Robert inherited his father's English estates and the earldom of Leicester and married the heiress of the Fitzosbern counts of Breteuil. Her daughter Isabel however became a king's concubine or mistress at a young age; it is unclear whether her mother's own life or her eldest brother's political and personal travails in this period played any part in this decision. Before her mother died, Isabel had become wife of Gilbert de Clare, later (1147) Earl of Pembroke, so had adopted a more conventional life like her mother.

There are no known biographies of Elizabeth de Vermandois, nor any known fictional treatments of her life.

Children and Descendants
During her first marriage (1096-1115) to Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan (d 5 June 1118), Elizabeth had 3 sons (including twin elder sons) and 6 daughters:

* Emma de Beaumont (born 1102) whose fate is unknown. She was betrothed as an infant to Aumari, nephew of William, Count of Evreux, but the marriage never took place. She probably died young, or entered a convent.[2]

* Waleran IV de Beaumont, Count of Meulan (born 1104) married and left issue.

* Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester (born 1104) married and left issue (his granddaughter Hawisa or Isabella of Gloucester was the unfortunate first wife of King John.

* Hugh de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Bedford (born c. 1106) lost his earldom, left issue

* Adeline de Beaumont (b ca 1107), married two times:
o Hugh IV, 4th Lord of Montfort-sur-Risle to whom she was married firstly by her brother Waleran;
o Richard de Granville of Bideford (d. 1147)

* Aubree (or Alberee) de Beaumont (b ca 1109), married by her brother Waleran to Hugh II of Châteauneuf-en-Thimerais (possibly son of Hugh I of Châteauneuf-en-Thimerais and his wife Mabille de Montgomerie, 2nd daughter of Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury)

* Matilda de Beaumont (b ca 1111), married by her brother Waleran to William Lovel, or Louvel or Lupel, son of Ascelin Goel, Lord of Ivri.

* Isabel de Beaumont (b ca 1113), a mistress of King Henry I of England. Married two times:
o Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke by whom she was mother of Richard Strongbow, who invaded Ireland 1170;
o Hervé de Montmorency, Constable of Ireland (this marriage is not conclusively proven)

Elizabeth de Beaumont also had a daughter by King Henry before her first marriage.

* Agnes de Beaumont (b ca 1115), married Guillaume, Sire de Say.

In her second marriage, to William de Warenne, Elizabeth had three sons and two daughters (for a total of fourteen children - nine during her first marriage, and five during her second):

* William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey and Warenne (b. 1119 dspm 1147) whose daughter Isabelle de Warenne, Countess of Surrey married 1stly
o William, Count of Boulogne (dsp), yr son of King Stephen, and married 2ndly
o Hamelin Plantagenet, an illegitimate half-brother of King Henry II of England by whom she had issue, later earls of Surrey and Warenne.

* Reginald de Warenne, who inherited his father's property in upper Normandy. He married Adeline, daughter of William, lord of Wormgay in Norfolk, by whom he had a son William, whose daughter and sole heir Beatrice married first Dodo, lord Bardolf, and secondly Hubert de Burgh;

* Ralph de Warenne (dsp)

* Gundrada de Warenne, who married first
o Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick and had issue; second (as his 2nd wife)
o William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Warenne and Surrey and is most remembered for expelling king Stephen's garrison from Warwick Castle; and they had issue.

* Ada de Warenne (d. ca. 1178), who married Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, younger son of King David I of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon by his marriage to the heiress Matilda or Maud, 2nd Countess of Huntingdon (herself great-niece of William I of England) and had issue. They were parents to Malcolm IV of Scotland and William I of Scotland and their youngest son became David of Scotland, 8th Earl of Huntingdon. All Kings of Scotland since 1292 were the descedants of Huntingdon.

The second earl had married Isabella, daughter of Hugh, Count of Vermandois, widow of Robert de Beaumont, earl of Leicester. The arms of Warenne "checky or and azure" were adopted from the Vermandois coat after this marriage.

The original Vermandois arms were "checky or and sable" but there was no black tincture in early medieval heraldry until sable was discovered, being the crushed fur of this animal. A very deep indigo was used instead which faded into blue so the Vermandois arms becams "checky argent and or".

The Vermandois arms were inherited by the earls of Warenne and Surrey, the Newburgh earls of Warwick, the Beauchamp earls of Warwick and Worcester and the Clifford earls of Cumberland.

** from Wikipedia listing for Elizabeth of Vermandois, Countess of Leicester
Elizabeth of Vermandois, or Elisabeth or Isabel de Vermandois (ca. 1081 – 13 February 1131), was a niece of Philip I of France who was twice married to influential Anglo-Norman magnates.

Family
Elizabeth of Vermandois was the third daughter of Hugh Magnus and Adelaide of Vermandois, and as such represented both the Capetian line of her paternal grandfather Henry I of France, and the Carolingian ancestry of her maternal grandfather Herbert IV of Vermandois. Her father was a younger brother of Philip I of France.

Countess of Leicester
In 1096, while under age (and probably aged 9 or 11), Elizabeth married Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester. The earl was over 35 years her senior, which was an unusual age difference even for this time period. He was a nobleman of some significance in France, having inherited lands from his maternal uncle Henry, Count of Meulan, and had fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 under the command of his distant kinsman William the Conqueror. For this service, he was awarded English lands in addition to those in Meulan and Normandy he had inherited. However, at the time of the marriage, he held no earldom in England while his younger brother was already styled Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick. Meulan was a respected advisor to three reigning monarchs: William II of England, Robert Curthose of Normandy and Philip I of France.

According to Middle Ages custom, brides were often betrothed young - 8 being the legal age for betrothal and 12 for marriage (for women). The young betrothed wife would often go to her husband's castle to be raised by his parents or other relatives and to learn the customs and ways of her husband's family. The actual wedding would not take place until much later. Some genealogists speculate that the usual age at which a noble bride could expect the marriage to be consummated would be 14. This is consistent with the date of birth of Elizabeth's first child Emma in 1102 when she would be about 15 to 17.

The marriage produced several children, including most notably two twin sons (born 1104) who both become important noblemen. These men, known to historians of this period as the Beaumont twins, were Waleran de Beaumont, Count of Meulan and his younger twin Robert Bossu (the Humpback) or Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester. Another notable child of this marriage was Elisabeth or Isabel de Beaumont, one of the youngest mistresses of Henry I of England and later mother (by her first marriage) of Richard Strongbow.

William II of England died suddenly in a purported hunting accident, and was hastily succeeded not by the expected heir but by the youngest brother Henry. This seizure of the throne led to an abortive invasion by the older brother Duke Robert of Normandy, followed by an uneasy truce between the brothers. The reprieve was only temporary, and there was unrest in both England and Normandy for some time (stirred up by Duke Robert, and by an exiled nobleman Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury). Finally, Henry invaded Normandy and in the Battle of Tinchebray (September 28, 1106) destroyed organized opposition to his takeover of Normandy and imprisoned his ineffectual older brother for his lifetime. Meulan and his brother Warwick were apparently supporters of Henry during this entire period, and Meulan was rewarded with the earldom of Leicester in 1103. By 1107, Meulan was in possession of substantial lands in three domains. In 1111, he was able to revenge himself on the attack on his seat Meulan by Louis VI of France by harrying Paris.

Countess of Surrey
Elizabeth, Countess of Meulan apparently tired of her aging husband at some point during the marriage. The historian Planche says (1874) that the Countess was seduced by or fell in love with a younger nobleman, William de Warenne (c. 1071-11 May 1138) himself the thwarted suitor of Edith of Scotland, Queen consort of Henry I of England. Warenne was said to want a royal bride, and Elizabeth fitted his requirements, even though she was also another man's wife.

In 1115, the Countess was apparently carried off or abducted by Warenne, which abduction apparently concealed a long-standing affair. There was some kind of separation or divorce between Meulan and his wife, which however did not permit her to marry her lover. The elderly Count of Meulan died, supposedly of chagrin and mortification in being thus publicly humiliated, in the Abbey of Preaux, Normandy on 5 June 1118, leaving his properties to his two elder sons whom he had carefully educated.

Elizabeth married, secondly, William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey, sometime after the death of her first husband. By him, it is alleged, she already had several children (all born during her marriage to Meulan). She also had at least one daughter born while she was living out of wedlock with Warenne (1115–1118). It is unclear whether this daughter was Ada de Warenne, wife of Henry of Scotland or Gundrede de Warenne, wife of Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick (her half-brothers' first cousin).

The later life of Elizabeth de Vermandois is not known. Her sons by her first marriage appear to have a good relationship with their half-brother William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey although on opposing sides for much of the wars between Stephen and Matilda. Her eldest son Waleran, Count of Meulan was active in supporting the disinherited heir William Clito, son of Robert Curthose until captured by King Henry. He was not released until Clito's death without issue in 1128. Her second son Robert inherited his father's English estates and the earldom of Leicester and married the heiress of the Fitzosbern counts of Breteuil. Her daughter Isabel however became a king's concubine or mistress at a young age; it is unclear whether her mother's own life or her eldest brother's political and personal travails in this period played any part in this decision. Before her mother died, Isabel had become wife of Gilbert de Clare, later (1147) Earl of Pembroke, so had adopted a more conventional life like her mother.
[edit] Children and descendants

During her first marriage (1096–1115) to Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan (d 5 June 1118), Elizabeth had 3 sons (including twin elder sons) and 6 daughters:

Emma de Beaumont (born 1102), was betrothed as an infant to Aumari, nephew of William, Count of Évreux, but the marriage never took place. She probably died young, or entered a convent.[1]
Waleran IV de Beaumont, Count of Meulan (born 1104) married and left issue.
Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester (born 1104) married and left issue (his granddaughter Isabella of Gloucester was the unfortunate first wife of King John.
Hugh de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Bedford (born c. 1106) lost his earldom, left issue
Adeline de Beaumont (b ca 1107), married two times:
Hugh IV, 4th Lord of Montfort-sur-Risle to whom she was married firstly by her brother Waleran;
Richard de Granville of Bideford (d. 1147)
Aubree (or Alberee) de Beaumont (b ca 1109), married by her brother Waleran to Hugh II of Châteauneuf-en-Thimerais (possibly son of Hugh I of Châteauneuf-en-Thimerais and his wife Mabille de Montgomerie, 2nd daughter of Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury)
Maud de Beaumont (b ca 1111), married by her brother Waleran to William Lovel, or Louvel or Lupel, son of Ascelin Goel, Lord of Ivri.
Isabel de Beaumont (b Aft. 1102), a mistress of King Henry I of England. Married two times:
Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke by whom she was mother of Richard Strongbow, who invaded Ireland 1170;
Hervé de Montmorency, Constable of Ireland (this marriage is not conclusively proven)

In her second marriage, to William de Warenne, Elizabeth had three sons and two daughters (for a total of fourteen children - nine during her first marriage, and five during her second):

William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey and Warenne (b. 1119 dspm 1147) whose daughter Isabelle de Warenne, Countess of Surrey married 1stly
William, Count of Boulogne (dsp), yr son of King Stephen, and married 2ndly
Hamelin Plantagenet, an illegitimate half-brother of King Henry II of England by whom she had issue, later earls of Surrey and Warenne.

Reginald de Warenne, who inherited his father's property in upper Normandy. He married Adeline, daughter of William, lord of Wormgay in Norfolk, by whom he had a son William, whose daughter and sole heir Beatrice married first Dodo, lord Bardolf, and secondly Hubert de Burgh;

Ralph de Warenne (dsp)

Gundrada de Warenne, (Gundred) who married first
Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick and had issue; second (as his 2nd wife)
William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Warenne and Surrey and is most remembered for expelling king Stephen's garrison from Warwick Castle; and they had issue.

Ada de Warenne (d. ca. 1178), who married Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, younger son of King David I of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon by his marriage to the heiress Matilda or Maud, 2nd Countess of Huntingdon (herself great-niece of William I of England) and had issue. They were parents to Malcolm IV of Scotland and William I of Scotland and their youngest son, David of Scotland, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, who was ancestor of all Kings of Scotland since 1292.

External links
Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis, Lines: 50-24, 50-25, 53-24, 66-25, 84-25, 88-25, 89-25, 140-24, 170-23 184-4, 215-24
[2] My Royal Ancestors [Ancestors of Lady Shirley]
Elizabeth de Vermandois
Warenne earls in 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Meulan
Vermandois arms used by Isabel's descendants

Elizabeth of Vermandois, or Elisabeth or Isabel de Vermandois (– 1131), was the third daughter of Hugh Magnus and Adelaide of Vermandois,[1] and as such represented both the Capetian line of her paternal grandfather Henry I of France, and the Carolingian ancestry of her maternal grandfather Herbert IV of Vermandois.[2] As the wife of two Anglo-Norman magnates, Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester and William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey, she is the ancestress of hundreds of well-known families down to the present time.[3]
Life
Countess of Leicester

In 1096, Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan reputed to be "the wisest man in his time between London and Jerusalem" insisted, in defiance of the laws of the church, on marrying a very young Elizabeth, he being over fifty at the time.[4] In early 1096 Bishop Ivo, on hearing of the proposed marriage, wrote a letter banning the marriage and preventing its celebration on the grounds the two were related within prohibited degrees. In April of that year Elizabeth's father count Hugh left on Crusade, his last act being to see his daughter married to count Robert. The crusader was able to convince Pope Urban to issue a dispensation for the marriage which then went forward.[2][4]

Her husband was a nobleman of some significance in France, having inherited lands from his maternal uncle Henry, Count of Meulan, and had fought at the Battle of Hastings as a known companion of William the Conqueror.[5][6] He was rewarded with ninety manors in the counties of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Wiltshire.[7] The count of Meulan was one of Henry I's "four wise counsellors and was one of the king's commanders at the Battle of Tinchebray 28 September 1106.[8] In 1107 Robert became Earl of Leicester.[9]
Countess of Surrey

Elizabeth, Countess of Meulan is reputed to have had an affair and left her husband when he was near death. The historian James Planché claimed (1874) that the Countess was seduced by or fell in love with a younger nobleman, William de Warenne[10] There is no evidence that her second husband, William II de Warenne, second earl of Surrey, was that lover and only later rumors that she had a lover at all during her first marriage. William had sought a royal bride in 1093, but failed in his attempt to wed Matilda of Scotland also known as Edith, who later married Henry I,.[11] He obtained a bride of royal blood when he married Elizabeth in 1118, very soon after the death of Earl Robert.[12] Elizabeth survived her second husband William to later die 1131.[1][13]
Family

By her first husband, Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, (d 5 June 1118), Elizabeth had three sons (including twin elder sons) and five or six daughters:[14]

Emma de Beaumont (born 1102),[10] was betrothed as an infant to Aumari, nephew of William, Count of Évreux, but the marriage never took place. She probably died young, or entered a convent.[10]
Waleran IV de Beaumont, Count of Meulan (born 1104) married and left issue.[14]
Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester (born 1104) married and left issue.[14]
Hugh de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Bedford (born c. 1106) lost his earldom, left issue.[14]
Adeline de Beaumont (b ca 1107), married 1stly, Hugh IV, 4th Lord of Montfort-sur-Risle, and 2ndly Richard de Granville of Bideford (d. 1147).[14]
Aubree (or Alberee) de Beaumont (b ca 1109), married Hugh II of Châteauneuf-en-Thimerais.[14]
Maud de Beaumont (b ca 1111), married William Lovel.[14]
Isabel de Beaumont (b Aft. 1102), a mistress of King Henry I of England.[15] She married 1stly Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke[14] and 2ndly Hervé de Montmorency, Constable of Ireland.[16]

By her second husband, William de Warenne, Elizabeth had three sons and two daughters:[17]

William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey.[17]
Ralph de Warenne.[17]
Reginald de Warenne, who inherited his father's property in upper Normandy, including the castles of Bellencombre and Mortemer[18] He married Adeline, daughter of William, lord of Wormegay in Norfolk, by whom he had a son William (founder of the priory of Wormegay),[18]
Gundrada de Warenne, (Gundred) who married 1stly Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick and had issue, and 2ndly William de Lancaster and had issue.[17]
Ada de Warenne (d. ca. 1178), who married Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, younger son of King David I of Scotland and had issue.[19] She is known as the Queen mother of Scotland for her two sons Malcolm IV, King of Scotland and William I 'the Lion', King of Scotland as well as being the ancestor of numerous Scottish kings.[20]

Third daughter of Hugh Magnus and Adelaide of Vermandois, granddaughter of King Henry I of France and Anne of Kiev, Herbert IV, Count of Vermandois, and Adele of Valois. She was the heiress of the county of Vermandois and descendant of Charlemagne.

Wife of Sir Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, the son of Roger de Beaumont and Adeline of Meulan; Isabel became the Countess of Leicester. They married about 1096 and had three sons and at least five daughters:
* Emma b 1101, probably died young
* Waleran IV de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, twin
* Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester, twin
* Hugh de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Bedford
* Adeline, wife of Hugh Montfort & Richard de Granville
* Aubree, wife of Hugh II of Châteauneuf-en-Thimerais
* Maud, wife of William Lovel
* Isabel, mistress of King Henry I, wife of Gilbert de Clare and mother of Richard Strongbow & wife of Hervé de Montmorency

Secondly, the wife of William de Warenne, son of William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey and his first wife Gundred; Isabel became the Countess of Surrey. They married in 1118 and had three sons and two daughters:
* William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey
Ralph de Warenne
* Reginald de Warenne
* Gundrada de Warenne, wife of Roger de Beaumont& William de Lancaster
* Ada de Warenne, wife of Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, mother King Malcolm IV and King William I 'the Lion'

Sir Robert de Beaumont, described as being "the wisest man in his time between London and Jerusalem", and aged over fifty was determined to marry Isabel, aged about eleven. Bishop Ivo dismissed their request based on their being within a few degrees of kindred. Isabel's father was able to sway Bishop Ivo, and saw his daughter married by April of 1096 when he left on a crusade.

In 1115, Isabel was either carried away or willingly abducted by William de Warrene, revealing they had been lovers for some time. They were unable to marry until the death of Sir Robert, which occurred in 1118.

The Beaumont sons were on opposite sides of support for King Stephen and Queen Matilda, but were not enemies.

Sources vary on her death, reported as 1131 to outliving William who died i